Based on San Cristóbal Island, Galapagos our project uses acoustic telemetry a crucial marine research technique for the evaluation of marine protected area design, to study the movement patterns of juvenile Blacktip sharks (C. limbatus).

Thanks to the support granted by Project Aware this Ocean Action Project has been incorporated into the archipelago-wide Shark Conservation Program of the Galapagos National Park Services (GNPS).

The Galapagos Islands' marine sanctuary is world re-known for its dive tourism, nevertheless the original zoning design of the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR) was determined as provisional due to the lack of spatial information on the local biodiversity and is currently under revision by the GNPS.

In collaboration with the newly established Galapagos Science Center we use state-of-the-art technology to determine the spatial distribution of juvenile sharks in their nursery areas, in order to include these key ecosystems into the zoning scheme of the GMR.

Therefore we build upon the active support of local students and the help of local fishermen to work hand in hand with the National Park staff in order to achieve a suitable and sustainable use of the marine resources.

Our project’s aim is to educate and empower local youth to take action and become future advocates for shark and nature conservation.

Recently, our Ocean Action volunteers joined forces with the Galapagos Science Center to organize the Galapgos’ first ever “Shark Day”. For this special event we invited the local public to discover more about sharks and their conservation in the Galapagos Archipelago.

During the first months of the year, water temperatures in the Galápagos Archipelago rise and the wet season drastically changes the landscape coloration on San Cristóbal from grey brown to bright green. That’s the time when pregnant Blacktip females come into the shallow waters to give birth to an average of 6 completely independent life pups. On our trips in January and February we could reconfirm the importance of Puerto Grande bay as a nursery area due to the high abundance of newborn pups registered during our study.

T-shirts are a great way of communication. They are used many times and over a long period of time. Their unique designs are eye-catchers that can convey a story and kindle conversations.

We used these characteristics in order to raise awareness among the local population as well as tourists and create a general consciousness about threats to sharks and the goals of our conservation project.

Only by knowing the exact fine scale movements of juvenile shark we can create an adequate measure for their protection. Therefore our study undertakes the mayor effort to continuously track the young Blacktips within their nursery area for as long as two days and two nights with no rest, just like the sharks themselves. This species of shark among many others needs to be in constant movement to create a water flow through its gills for respiration.

Community based shark conservation in the Galapagos Islands's Blog

During the first months of the year, water temperatures in the Galápagos Archipelago rise and the wet season drastically changes the landscape coloration on San Cristóbal from grey brown to bright green. That’s the time when pregnant Blacktip females come into the shallow waters to give birth to an average of 6 completely...